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Definition of garble
garbled
;garbling
play \ˈgär-b(ə-)liŋ\transitive verb
1 archaic : cull 1
2 : to sift impurities from
3a : to so alter or distort as to create a wrong impression or change the meaning garble a storyb : to introduce textual error into (a message) by inaccurate encipherment, transmission, or decipherment
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Examples of garble in a Sentence
the candidate complained that his views had been deliberately garbled by his opponent
garbled spices are less likely to contaminate a recipe
Recent Examples of garble from the Web
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The volume on the radio hadn’t been turned high enough, and communications from the pit were garbled beyond the point of comprehension.
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Researchers now have a more complete picture of how fused, garbled, or incomplete genes can cause malignant cells to grow at multiple sites in the body.
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But Mr. Sippel is trying to do so many things at once that his point of view gets garbled.
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Was the syntax so garbled that a target couldn't possibly understand it?
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These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'garble'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Winding History of garble
Garble developed from Late Latin cribellare, a verb meaning "to sift." Arabic speakers borrowed "cribellare" as "gharbala," and the Arabic word passed into Old Italian as garbellare; both of these words also meant "to sift." When the word first entered Middle English as "garbelen," its meaning stayed close to the original; it meant "to sort out the best." But that sort of sifting can cause a distortion, and in early Modern English "garble" came to mean "to distort the meaning or sound of."
Origin and Etymology of garble
Middle English garbelen, from Old Italian garbellare to sift, from Arabic gharbala, from Late Latin cribellare, from cribellum sieve; akin to Latin cernere to sift — more at certain
garble
Definition of garble
1 : the impurities removed from spices in sifting
2 : an act or an instance of garbling
Recent Examples of garble from the Web
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Tinkerbell is a man in a white tutu, who speaks in a garble impossible to understand.
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Rapper Dudley Perkins, Muldrow's musical collaborator on previous ventures, at one point took to the stage to offer a short soliloquy that was nearly impossible to decipher due, once again, to a garble of overblown sound.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'garble'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of garble
derivative of 1garble; in sense 1 perhaps in part borrowed from Italian garbello, noun derivative of garbellare
GARBLE Defined for English Language Learners
garble
playDefinition of garble for English Language Learners
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: to cause (a word, name, message, etc.) to be unclear or confusing
GARBLE Defined for Kids
garble
playDefinition of garble for Students
garbled
;garbling
: to change or twist the meaning or sound of He garbled the message.
History for garble
At first the word garble meant “to sift” or “to sort or pick out.” If you pick out a few misleading parts of a message and report only those parts, you distort the message, and so garble came to mean “to distort.” It is the meaning “sift,” however, that reflects the origin of garble. The English word garble came from an old Italian verb garbellare that meant “to sift.” This word came in turn from an Arabic word gharbala that meant “sieve.” The Arabs took this word ultimately from a Latin word cribellum that meant “sieve.”
Learn More about garble
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See words that rhyme with garble Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for garble Spanish Central: Translation of garble Nglish: Translation of garble for Spanish speakers
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